- Carole King and James Taylor announced North American dates for their “Troubadour Reunion” tour, which includes three shows at L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl May 13, 14 and 15, and one June 15 at N.Y.'s Madison Square Garden. The U.S. leg begins in Portland on May 7 and ends June 19 in Boston, encompassing over 20 major venues and cities, with tickets on sale Jan. 23. The two will appear on The Today Show and David Letterman Jan. 20. The idea for the tour was conceived after a series of six performances Taylor and King gave at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in 2007 to celebrate the famed venue's 50th Anniversary. Joining King and Taylor on tour will be their original bandmates, The Section—guitarist Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, drummer Russ Kunkel and bassist Lee Sklar. The world tour starts March 26 in Melbourne, Australia, and hits New Zealand and Japan before coming to the States.

- Black Eyed Pea will.i.am is among the headliners for the 2010 Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The electronic music festival takes place March 26 and 27 and includes sets from Passion Pit, The Crystal Method, Tiesto and more.

- Mary J. Blige will perform at the annual Essence Music Festival over July 4th weekend, reports Billboard. The rest of the lineup has yet to be announced, but it will be Blige's ninth time playing the festival.

- Spoon will kick off SXSW 2010 with a headlining set at Stubbs on Wednesday, March 17. The Austin-based band will have their set broadcast by NPR Music on KUT/Austin, WFUV/New York, WXPN/Philadelphia, KEXP/Seattle and The Current-Minnesota Public Radio. Spoon's new album, Transference, is due out next Tuesday, January 19 and NPR.org currently has an exclusive stream of the record from now until January 18. The band has also announced their spring tour dates:

Spoon North American Tour 2010

03.17 Stubbs: Austin, TX

03.18 Republic: New Orleans, LA

03.19 Workplay Soundstage: Birmingham, AL

03.20 Tabernacle: Atlanta, GA

03.22 9:30 Club: Washington, DC

03.23 9:30 Club: Washington, DC

03.24 The National: Richmond, VA

03.26 Radio City Music Hall: New York, NY

03.27 House of Blues: Boston, MA, USA

03.29 Sound Academy: Toronto, ON

03.30 Royal Oak Music Theatre: Royal Oak, MI

04.01 Aragon Ballroom: Chicago, IL

04.02 First Avenue: Minneapolis, MN

04.03 First Avenue: Minneapolis, MN

04.05 Ogden Theatre: Denver, CO

04.06 Ogden Theatre: Denver, CO

04.07 In the Venue: Salt Lake City, UT

04.09 Moore Theatre: Seattle, WA

04.10 Moore Theatre: Seattle, WA

04.11 Orpheum Theatre: Vancouver, BC

04.13 Fox Theater: Oakland, CA

*Deerhunter direct support on all dates.

*New Orleans-Royal Oak w/ The Strange Boys

*Chicago-Oakland w/ Micachu & the Shapes